Traveling line load indicator



Oct. 27, 1953 L.. Q. WEBBl-:R

l TRAVELING LINE LOAD INDICATOR Filed sept. 5, 195o 0a/s Q. 065552, IN VEN TOR.

Patented Oct. 27, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TRAVELING LINE LOAD INDICATOR Louis Q. Webber, Long Beach, Calif., assigner to Martin-Deckerv Corporation, Long Beach, Calif., a corporation of Delaware Application September 5, 1950, Serial No. 183,200

(Cl. '7S-143) 1 Claim.

This invention relates to the use of cable in deep Well or mining operations, and it relates particularly to a travelling line load indicator.

Drilling operations in deep wells are commonly carried onwith tools suspended on the lower end of a length of cable supported at its upper end on the drilling rig.

Not infrequently, when hoisting the tool, the latter becomes stuck in the well and the method usually effective in freeing it is to pull upwardly at intervals on the tool through the cableA by applying lifting loads to the latter of a high order.

It is, of course, important that the strain to which the line is thus subjected shall not risk breaking the line and numerous devices have been produced for informing the driller from time to time approximately what load he is imposing on the cable line so that he may keep this Within safe limits.

It is an object of the present inention to provide a line load indicating device which will operate as' the line travels, as when pulling the same from a well, to give a running indication of the load imposed on said line.

The manner of accomplishing the' foregoing objects, as well as further objects and advantages, will be made manifest in the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic side elevational view of a preferred embodiment of the invention installed over an oil well.

Fig. 2 is a plan View of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken on the line 3-3 in Fig. l.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view or^ the hydraulic cylinder of the invention taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Referring specifically toA the drawings, the invention is there shown as embodied in a travelling line load and length indicator l5, this being mounted on a derrick platform l5 of an oil well, which Well is lined with a casing I1 having a casing head I8, a central opening I9 in which receives the casing l1.

The apparatus I5 has a frame 25 with angle iron members 26 originally spaced by welding opposite ends of cross pipes 21, 28 and 29 thereto. Welded in vertical parallel relation to the cross pipe 29 are fulcrum pipes 30, on the upper ends of which bearings 3| are rigidly mounted. Brace pipes 32 extend obliquely downward from the bearings 3l and are wel-ded at their upper ends 2 tosaid 'bearingswand at their lower ends to angle irons 26 Welded in parallel spaced relation to the cross pipes 28 is a pair rof inverted V'members 33 to the apices of which are welded pairs of pipes 34 and 35. Opposite ends of the pipes 34 are welded to the upper ends of fulcrum members 30. The opposite ends of pipes 35- are welded to pairs 36 and 31 of short pipes which extend obliquely downward Vand are welded respectively to the angle irons 25 and the cross pipe 21. Welded in place on the upper ends of the pipes 36 and 31 are bearings 38. Pivotally mounted in the bearings 38 on a horizontal axis is a flanged line guide wheel 39 which is of a relatively small diameter The Wheel 39 is so mounted that the central radial plane of said wheel is located in a Vertical plane containing the axis of the casing l1.

Welded to and extending horizontally from the cross pipe 29 is a hydraulic cylinder base 45 having braces 46 which extend upward to unite with the bearings 3l.

Secured to a bar 41 which extends upwardly fromV theV base 45 and to the fulcrum members 3i] is a guard rail 48.

The bearings 3i are aligned on a horizontal axis which is normal to the plane of the guide wheel 39. Pivotally mounted on said bearings 3i is a U-shaped lever 55 including side arms 53 which extendv about equally in opposite directions from the bearings 3l and are connected at their outer ends by cross member 51 having a clevis 53 formed thereon and extending downwardly therefrom.

Provided on opposite ends of the arms 55 are bearings 60, these being aligned on an axis which is inclined slightly from horizontal and lies in a plane which is at right angles to the piane of the guide wheel 39. Journaling in the bearing 5t is a pivot shaft 61 of a flanged line measuring wheel E2. the diameter of which is substantially twice that of the guide wheel 33, and which is so located on the frame 25 that a cable 63 passing over the guide wheel 39 and underneath the wheel 62 and trained about the latter, depends therefrom in alignment with the axis of the well casing l1, as shown in Fig. 3. Owing to the inclination of the axis of the pivot shaft 6l of the line wheel 62, there is no conflict or rubbing between the portion of cable 63 leading from the guide wheel 39 to the line wheel 62, and the portion of said cable which depends vertically from the line wheel B2.

Provided on the base 45 is a clevis 65 which is in vertical alignment with the clevis 58. Pivotally attached to the clevis 58 and depending therefrom, is a threaded rod 66 which extends downwardly through a central aperture in upper head 6T of a hydraulic cylinder 68, and has a nut 69 on its lower end which supports said cylinder. The cylinder E8 lies just within the guard rail 48 and includes a lower head lli which is connected to the head by bolts 1|, thereby clamping a tubular cylinder 'l2 between said heads and enclosing a fluid tight cylinder chamber 13. Slidable in this chamber is a piston .'4 mounted on a piston rod 'l5 `'which extends through a central hole 16 in the head 'I0 and is pivotally connected to the clevis S5.

Provided in the head 'i3 is a liquid duct 89 which connects chamber 'i3 with a piece of tubing 8| which is screwed into a suitable tapped hole provided in the head 7B.

The other end of tubing 8i connects with a dial gauge Sil which is mounted where it may be conveniently observed by the driller.

This gauge includes a housing S2, dial 95, and indicator hands 26 lill which rotate about the center of said dial to indicate weight values shown by scales provided on said dial.

Mounted on the lever E25 and driven by shaft 6i of the line wheel is a line length indicator 2&0 which is to be set to zero and thereafter counts the aggregate travel of the periphery of the line wheel t and the length of the line t3 passing thereover. total when wheel 52 is rotating antieclockwise and subtracts from the total when said wheel rotates clockwise.

indicator 2te may be mounted near the dial gauge if desired so that it can be read along with said gauge by the driller with a minimum of effort. 1n such case, indicator 2li@ may be connected with shaft Gi a iiexible cable (not shown).

Chamber of the cylinder pipe Si and a Bourdon tube (not shown) which is provided in the 9d, and which actuates the dial hands 25 i2?, are filled with liquid which transmits pressure from said cylinder to said indicator.

Operation After the apparatus i5 has been set up over a well, as, for instance, to lower a tool into said well, the cable 53 is fed from a power winch (not shown) on which the gaine is stored, over the guide wheel and around the line wheel 82 as shown in Fig. l. The tool to be lowered is attached to the end of this cable and is then lowered into the well by paying out cable from the winch. This cable rotates wheels 3s and 62 as the tool is lowered in the well. Just before the lowering of the tool into the well starts, the driller turns the line length indicator lfl to zero so that at all points in the lowering of the tool it shows the length of the cable measured from the level of Indicator 25.0 adds to the f the derrick platform I6 down to the level of the tool suspended thereon. At all times while the cable 63 is being lowered into or removed from the well, the weight of this and the tool fastened thereto is supported by the wheel 62. Any added strains imposed on the cable 63, such as when the tool meets resistance to its being withdrawn from the well by getting stuck in the mud therein and which is thus added to the load imposed on said cable at the top of the well, are also, of course, added to the load sustained by the wheel 62. This load at all times tends to rotate the scales lever 55 and imposes a pressure on the liquid in the cylinder 63 which varies directly with said load. This pressure is transmitted through the liquid in the pipe 3| to the liquid in the dial gauge `Si) and causes a corresponding distortion of the Bourdon tube of said gauge which is reflected in movement of the dial hands 125i and i2? so that said gauge indicates the weight of the load suspended on the cable 53 at all times throughout the operation.

The claim is:

In a travelling line load indicator the combination of: a fulcrum; lever means pivotally mounted on said fulcrum; bearings provided on said lever means; a line wheel rotatably mounted in said bearings to receive a turn of said line thereabout whereby said line is adapted to depend from said wheel in a well and be supported on said wheel while travelling into or from said well; a load measuring device connected to said lever means and adapted to absorb the load imposed on said wheel by said line which tends to rotate said lever about said fulcrum, the axis of said line wheel being slightly inclined relative to horizontal; and a guide wheel for guiding said line into substantially tangential contact with a lower portion of the periphery of said line wheel, whereby said line may be passed substantially once around said line wheel and extend vertically therefrom into said well, the portion of said line between said guide wheel and said line wheel being spaced, by virtue or" the inclination of said axis, from the portion of said line which depends from said line wheel.

LOUIS Q. WEBBER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,572,719 Hazlett Feb. 9, 1926 1,692,057 Smith Nov. 20, 1928 1,760,336 Redfield Jan. 29, 1929 1,848,489 Motherwell Mar. 8, 1932 1,859,909 Norwood Aug. 2, 1932 2,131,868 Bolton et al. Oct. 4, 1938 2,311,762 Kottmann et al. Feb. 23, 1943 2,349,228 Wolfi May 16, 1944i 2,353,249 Lebourg July 11, 1944 

